'You have to try something' to break Lorena Wiebes' sprint dominance, but EF Education-Oatly's efforts fall short at UAE Tour Women

EF Education-Oatly's Nina Berton animated the last 40km of stage 3 of the UAE Tour Women with a solo breakaway before being caught on the final 5km.

The 24-year-old Luxembourger hadn’t planned to go on the attack alone but committed to the move which she said is the only way to beat eventual stage winner Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime).

"Of course, I am a bit disappointed. I hoped they would give me a a bigger gap, and I also hoped somebody else would join me when I attacked. But once you have done something you have to commit to it. I tried to commit, but then I saw them coming from the back quite fast, and I knew it was done," Berton told Cyclingnews after the finish at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater.

Berton had made her first move in the crosswinds on the Umm Yifeenah Bridge and attacked again a few kilometres later when the early break had been reeled in.

With Wiebes being absolutely dominant in the sprints, having won the first two stages, also winning stage 3 after Berton was caught, and not losing a sprint since the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, the Luxembourger was adamant that teams had to be proactive and aggressive in order to beat a rider and team that seem to be invincible.

She echoed what UAE Team ADQ sprint coach André Greipel also said, that if Wiebes can't be beaten to the line the only option is to try to get ahead without her.

"If a few of the other teams had gone with me and left the chase to SD Worx, then it could have come true. That’s how you can win races against Lorena, not if you just wait for the sprint. That’s what we tried, nobody went with me, but if you don’t try, you can’t win," Berton explained.

It wasn’t the first time Berton went off the front in Abu Dhabi as she had attacked on the same stage last year, inspired by Amber Kraak’s victory from a breakaway in 2024.

"I saw last year that, actually, if the bunch lets it go and waits for too long, it can work, and we also saw it two years ago. You have to try something, and we did it. Maybe next time, it works," Berton concluded, already looking to the future for the next opportunity to foil the sprinters’ plans.